Marit Kragt — the UWA Profiles and Research Repository

Personal profile

Biography

I am an Environmental Economist interested in improving the management of our natural resources. My research considers people's preferences for management outcomes.

I studied Environmental Science with a major in Environmental Management at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. After briefly working at the Dutch Department of Foreign Affairs in The Hague and Beijing, I moved to Australia for a Masters of Economics and a PhD at the Australian National University in Canberra.

Since July 2010, I have been working at the UWA School of Agricultural and Resource Economics (now UWA School of Agriculture and Environment). My expertise lies in interdisciplinary research, integrated bio-economic modelling, mine rehabilitation, and non-market environmental valuation.

Roles and responsibilities

• Discipline Head (Research) for Agricultural and Resource Economics
• Member of Academic Board, University of Western Australia
• Associate Editor and Book Review Editor, Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics

Research

It is important to me to deliver timely and thorough research that targets policy relevant environmental issues. My research looks at environmental management; integrating biophysical science and economics.

I have particular interests in
• Climate change mitigation in agriculture
• Values and preferences for restoration
• Integrating non-market values of environmental goods and services into decision making

Some projects that I am working on include
• Opportunities for crowdfunding climate change mitigation by agriculture
• Non-market valuation of post-mine land use and mine site rehabilitation
• Estimating the costs and benefits of improved weather forecasting in the WA wheatbelt

I am part of the Centre for Environmental Economics and Policy (CEEP), and involved in research with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions (CEED).

Current projects

* Estimating the non-market values associated with mine site rehabilitation strategies (supported by an Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award)

* Developing a framework for successful mine completion criteria and risk-based monitoring (collaborative research with Curtin University, Murdoch University, DBCA, and the WA Biodiversity Science Institute)

* Coolcrowd - Local crowdfunding for a low-emission society: Investigating the concept of local climate crowdfunding for Norway (supported by the Research Council of Norway)

Industrial relevance

My research into mine completion criteria and the values of different mine site rehabilitation options will be of interest to industry and government stakeholders. Please contact me for information.

Funding overview

Some recent grants:

• Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Award, Aligning social preferences and practice of mine site rehabilitation and mining offsets in Australia, AU$373,848 (2016-2020)

• Research Council of Norway, Local crowdfunding for a low-emission society: Investigating the concept of local climate crowdfunding for Norway (COOLCROWD), NOK200,000 (2017-2020)

• DAFF Filling the Research Gap, Achieving least cost GHG abatement – opportunities in Australian grain farms, AU$1.05M (2013-2017)

• Western Australian Marine Science Institution (WAMSI), Human use patterns, impacts, values and aspirations for coastal waters of the Kimberley, AU$ 339,783 (2013-2016)

• Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), Effective Implementation of Payments for Environmental Services, AU$1.34M (2012-2016)

[for more information, access my Research Profile via the link on the bottom of this page]

Future research

There are always openings for talented Honours and Postgraduate students who wish to undertake research with me. Funding or cadet-ships are sometimes available for qualifying candidates.
Just contact me for opportunities if your interests match my research topics.

Teaching overview

I am currently funded as an ARC DECRA Fellow and not coordinating any units.

Previous positions

July 2007 - June 2010
Australian National University: Lecturer and Teaching Assistant at Undergraduate and Postgraduate level for (i) the Crawford School of Economics and Government, (ii) the School of Economics, and (iii) the Fenner School of Environment

Dec 2006 - June 2010
Consultancies in Environmental Valuation, for example:
• Community values for New South Wales mining
• Community values for recycling Electronic Waste
• Non-Use Values of Victorian Public Land

Feb 2005 – Dec 2005
Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
• Consultancy Development Economics: Study on Pro-Poor Growth at the Directorate International Co-operation in The Hague
• Project assistant Environment and Development at the Royal Dutch Embassy in Beijing